Stanford Cardinal

The Stanford Cardinal play home games at Maples Pavilion on the university's Palo Alto campus, home to a program with genuine championship history dating back to the sport's early years. Stanford basketball's academic pedigree pairs with a legacy built on one of the game's original superstars, Hank Luisetti, who helped popularize the modern jump shot. The Cardinal now compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference following the Pac-12's 2024 dissolution. It's a program that blends Silicon Valley prestige with old-school basketball roots.

Stanford won its only NCAA men's basketball championship in 1942, defeating Dartmouth in Kansas City. The title came shortly after the program's rise under the influence of All-American Hank Luisetti, who set national scoring records in the mid-1930s and is credited with helping popularize the running one-handed shot that reshaped the sport, though he had already graduated by the time of the championship team. Stanford was a longtime Pac-12 member before joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024.